OUS!as i posted on my first post i was injured 4 years ago and fractured 2 of my vertebrae. with that i ended up with disk leakage, bulging disks and bone spurs all in my mid to upper back. doctors have been unable to operate.

even though the doctors told me not to, i still went to my first class last night. its actually been about 11 years since i trained hard last. it felt great to workout and sweat again and i feel ok this morning. the instructor was surprised about how much i remembered, i was still able to do all my kihon and heian kata, tekki and bassai kata.

here is my frustration and i know i will have to get past this. when i first got into shotokan back in the 70s i trained in the jka shotokan assn. it was all in english and no bunai. after sensai nakayama died in the 80s i left and joined kenkojuku shotokan. it was a different world for me. very hard classes alot of emphasis placed on conditioning, bunkai and everything was explained in the japanese language. i enjoyed the japanese language as it made me feel closer to what i was doing in the dojo. plus sensei sugimoto would come up from miami and give long seminars and he expected the classes to be very rigid and traditional. in the 90s after i got out of the military i moved to las vegas, nv to trained under sensei osamu ozawa. the shotokan was very similiar to kenkojuku. now the shotokan school i am joining is the iskf shotokan which is just like jka. the classes are very small (only 2 students last night and i was told that the classes are usually small), its in english and i am not sure how much emphasis will be placed on bunkai or conditioning. this is the only kind of shotokan where i live or the only tradition japanese karate. there is shorin-ryu but i am not a big fan of that style of ma. the class i went to was very easy, and the instructor was very mindful of my injury and continued to tell me to breathe and kick lower. i just hope once my conditioning picks up the class will be a bit toughter.

i am not looking for answers but i just want to vent a little bit.

also i went to class wearing a white belt as is the customary way when going to a new class. i was told to wear my black belt again. i lost my belt and most of my gear in a move a few years ago. thats why i asked the question about belts in the previous post.

For me,I can't stand trying to be traditional for traditions sake,what's the point? Why speak a foreign language anyway? I think it's kind of pretending to be something we are something we are not. I speak english and i'd be totally lost and confused if I had to learn all the terms and they are probably mispronounced anyway.If I was going to learn a foreign language it would have to be spanish,just so I'd fit in better.

Glad you are back at it,but be careful and take care of yourself. don't dive in head first just yet.

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The2nd ammendment, it makes all the others possible. <///<

I would agree that a good dojo that lacks the use of Japanese terminology is still a good dojo, and their lack of proper terminology shouldn't be a factor for not training there.

Of course, there are valid reasons for the use of Japanese terminology in Karate.

When they play baseball in Japan, a home run is pronounced "home run", etc. Same thing in Cuba, or the Dominican Republic. They use the same uniforms, gear and all the terminology that make up the tradition of baseball. It's more than just speaking the language to respect the tradition . . speaking the language is part of the tradition.

The standardized language of Traditional Karate is Japanese. All the books on the subject use Japanese terminology. If you visit another dojo, or go to a seminar you'll likely be expected to know your Mae Geri from your Yoko Geri.

Please be careful. You don't want to risk further injury that will complicate your condition. I admire your perseverance but engage intelligently. You might want to consult a specialist in sports medicine re: your injury.

BTW: ignore Brian...it's his own bias & it seems to be his battle cry ("I can't & don't want to speak Japanese/Mandarin/Korean/Portugese/Tagalog/Thai"). I respect your dedication to keep the cultural aspect of youe MA in tact.

hedkikir, It has been great so far, i made it 4 class's already and each class is a mile stone for me. where i had concerns are now being replaced with confidence. the classes being small is actually a benefit and the sensei is working with me in regards to my physical problems. yesturday was nice as we worked on hangetsu for a lot of the class, sparring has been very light and kihon does tend to wear me down faster at times. he is working with my breathing and focusing more on hip power over upper body strength, which is good considering all may damage is in my upper spine and neck. regional trainings are this winter which i will miss but they will be held again next summer. i plan on my making that training if my health holds up. the only concern i have had is it takes me longer to bounce back between classes and at times i am in a lot of pain. i want to practice at home but i am taking it easy right now and one day at at time. i see my physician next week and i am sure he will be p'oed at me for doing this and taking myself off the medications but oh well i will try to explain the benefits i am feeling right now. thanks again for the response.